Bulldog Cross Country Runs In The Spartan Invitational

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams returned to action with their first road competition of the year on Friday (Sept. 14) at the annual Auto-Owner's Insurance Spartan Invitational held in East Lansing, Mich.

The non-scoring event included student-athletes from larger Divsion I schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Miami (Ohio) and Ohio State.  It was hosted by MSU and took place at the Forest Akers Golf Course on the university campus with more than 5,000 athletes, including collegiate, high school and middle school teams, competing.

Junior Samantha Johnson led the Bulldogs in a competitive collegiate women's field as she placed 36th overall in a time of 22:21.  She was followed by senior Alyssa Osika, who came in 56th at 22:42 on the day.

FSU sophomore Kristie LeSage took 107th place (23:24) with junior Felicia Slate finishing 120th (23:39) and senior Jordan McGuire coming in 124th (23:45) in the field.  Junior Brittany Anderson finished 148th (24:10).  A total of 11 Bulldog runners took part in the 309-runner women's field.

The Bulldog men were paced by senior Tyler Crossman, who finished 13th overall in a time of 25:14 on the men's course.  Sophomore Spencer Gerber was next in line as he took 36th place (25:40) for the Bulldogs.

FSU senior Ryan Chute placed 52nd (25:56) with junior Brandon Cushman coming in 72nd (26:08) followed by sophomore Andrew Harper at 79th (26:16) and junior Alex Bladecki only one spot back in 80th place (26:16).  Juniors David Silversmith and Bill King also placed in the top 100 as they were 87th (26:22) and 99th (26:29), respectively.

A total of 317 runners competed in the men's division.

The Bulldogs will return to action next at the Lansing Community College Invitational on Sept. 28.  FSU will also send representatives to the Greater Louisville Classic the following day (Sept. 29) in Louisville, Ky.